Monday Note | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/series/monday-note
Media and tech analysis by <a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/frederic-filloux/">Frédéric Filloux</a> and <a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/?page_id=41">Jean-Louis Gassée</a>. Read more on the <a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/">Monday Note blog</a>en-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Thu, 22 Feb 2018 04:27:45 GMT2018-02-22T04:27:45Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
CarPlay could be a very smart way to hitch a ride on in-car systemshttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/mar/17/carplay-could-be-a-very-smart-way-to-hitch-a-ride-on-in-car-systems
<p>Who wouldn’t want an iPhone- or Android-like experience in their
car?
CarPlay’s answer looks nice – until you look at the details</p><p><b>Apple’s </b><a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/"><b>CarPlay</b></a><b> has an air of inevitability. </b>Previously dubbed “<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/10/4414368/apple-wwdc-ios-in-the-car">iOS in the Car</a>”, CarPlay brings the iPhone’s aesthetics, ease of use, consistency, and universe of apps to the ugly and dumbfounding world of car navigation and entertainment systems.</p><p>Seven years after the iPhone launched the Smartphone 2.0 wave, Apple kickstarts another mobile revolution…</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/mar/17/carplay-could-be-a-very-smart-way-to-hitch-a-ride-on-in-car-systems">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyGoogleMon, 17 Mar 2014 16:09:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/mar/17/carplay-could-be-a-very-smart-way-to-hitch-a-ride-on-in-car-systemsPhotograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty ImagesApple's CarPlay touch-screen commands inside a Volvo Estate concept car. Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty ImagesApple's CarPlay touch-screen commands inside a Volvo Estate concept car. Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty ImagesJean-Louis Gassée2014-03-17T16:09:06ZDon't mistake Apple's silence for imminent collapsehttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/dont-mistake-apples-silence-for-imminent-collapse
<p>Putting hopes for Apple’s future on a magical ‘New Category’ misunderstands its real direction – its Ecosystem Game. Many wrongly interpret this as a company in death throes</p><p><i><b>“The iPhone is seven years old. The iPad was introduced four years ago.</b> Since then… nothing. Apple’s growth is gone: a mere 9% revenue uptick in 2013; only 6% for the last quarter.<br></i></p><p><i>“It’s time to acknowledge the painfully obvious truth: Innovation has deserted Apple. Something must have gone seriously wrong if the company can no longer break into new categories.”</i></p><p>To activate Siri voice control, just press and hold the voice control button on the steering wheel.</p><p>If your CarPlay-equipped vehicle has a touchscreen, you can use it to control CarPlay.</p><p>CarPlay also works with the knobs, dials, or buttons in the car. If it controls your screen, it controls CarPlay.</p><p>CarPlay is a smarter, safer way to use your iPhone in the car. CarPlay takes the things you want to do with your iPhone while driving and puts them right on your car’s built-in display.</p><p>“Amazon and Google sell tablets at cut rates in order to get people to use their ecosystems. It’s less crucial for them that people buy tablets; they just want people to use tablets to buy stuff and look at ads. Apple makes money off its ecosystem, too, but unlike Amazon and Google that’s not where it makes most of its money.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/dont-mistake-apples-silence-for-imminent-collapse">Continue reading...</a>AppleiPhoneiPadWearable technologyTechnologyMon, 10 Mar 2014 12:11:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/dont-mistake-apples-silence-for-imminent-collapsePhotograph: STEPHEN LAM/REUTERSA screen shot showing the OS update menu for the new Apple TV is pictured as Craig Federighi, Apple Senior Vice President, Software Engineering, discusses the Mountain Lion OS during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco, California. Photograph: STEPHEN LAM/REUTERSPhotograph: STEPHEN LAM/REUTERSA screen shot showing the OS update menu for the new Apple TV is pictured as Craig Federighi, Apple Senior Vice President, Software Engineering, discusses the Mountain Lion OS during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco, California. Photograph: STEPHEN LAM/REUTERSJean-Louis Gassée2014-03-10T12:11:32ZWhy Twitter needs a design resethttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/03/why-twitter-needs-a-design-reset
<p>Twitter is the archetype of a greatly successful service that
complacently iterates itself without much regard for changes in its
uses. Such behavior makes the service — and others like it — vulnerable
to disruptive newcomers</p><p><b>Twitter might be the smartest new media of the decade, but its user interface sucks.</b> None of its heavy users is ready to admit it for simple reason: Twitter is fantastic in <i>broadcast</i> mode, but terrible in <i>consumption</i> mode. Herein lies the distortion: most Twitter promoters broadcast tweets as much as they read them. The logical consequence is a broad complacency: Twitter is great, because its most intensive broadcasters say so. The ones who rarely tweet but use the service as a permanent and tailored news feed are simply ignored. They suffer in silence — and they are up for grabs by the inevitable disrupter.</p><p>Twitter’s integration can’t be easier. Your Tweet it from any content, from your desktop with an app accessible in the toolbar, or from your smartphone. Twitter guarantees instant execution followed by immediate gratification: right after the last keystroke, your tweet is up for a global propagation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/03/why-twitter-needs-a-design-reset">Continue reading...</a>TwitterTechnologyMon, 03 Feb 2014 14:30:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/03/why-twitter-needs-a-design-resetPhotograph: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty ImagesA Twitter account on a smartphone. Photograph: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty ImagesA Twitter account on a smartphone. Photograph: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty ImagesFrédéric Filloux2014-02-03T14:30:54ZMac Pro: Seymour Cray would have approvedhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/jan/28/mac-pro-seymour-cray-would-have-approved
As Macintosh turns 30, here is an unscientific comparison between the 128K Mac and its polished descendant, the Mac Pro<p>The <a href="http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_classic/specs/mac_128k.html">original 128K Mac</a> was 13.6” high, 9.6” wide, 10.9” deep (35.4 x 24.4 x 26.4 cm) and 16.5 lb (7.5 kg). Today’s Mac Pro is 9.9″ by 6.6″ (25 by 17 cm) and weighs 11 lb (5 kg) — smaller, shorter, and lighter than its ancient progenitor. Open your hand and stretch your fingers wide: The distance from the tip of your pinky to the tip of your thumb is in the 9 to 10 inches range (for most males). This gives you an idea of how astonishingly small the Mac Pro is.</p><p>At 7 <a href="http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/?cid=wwa-us-kwg-mac-aos&amp;siclientid=5899&amp;sessguid=6025aeb1-4472-446c-b94d-07008ca0c090&amp;userguid=6025aeb1-4472-446c-b94d-07008ca0c090&amp;permguid=6025aeb1-4472-446c-b94d-07008ca0c090">teraflops</a>, the new Pro’s performance specs are impressive…but what’s even more impressive is how all that computing power is stuffed into such a small package without everything melting down. Look inside the new Mac Pro and you’ll find a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeon">Xeon</a> processor, twin <a href="http://www.amd.com/us/products/workstation/Pages/workstation.aspx">AMD FirePro</a> graphics engines, main memory, a solid-state “drive”, driven by 450W of maximum electric power… and all cooled by a single fan. The previous Mac Pro version, at only 2 teraflops, needed <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/mac-pro-2013-review-29310267/">eight blowers</a> to keep its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPU">GPU</a> happy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/jan/28/mac-pro-seymour-cray-would-have-approved">Continue reading...</a>AppleComputingTechnologyTue, 28 Jan 2014 11:26:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/jan/28/mac-pro-seymour-cray-would-have-approvedPhotograph: Eric Risberg/APPhil Schiller the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple talks about the Mac Pro. Photograph: Eric Risberg/APPhotograph: Eric Risberg/APPhil Schiller the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple talks about the Mac Pro. Photograph: Eric Risberg/APJean-Louis Gasse2014-01-28T11:26:49ZHow can Google feather its Nest with the internet of things?https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/20/google-nest-aquisition-learning-thermostat
Looking past the glitter, big names, and big money ($3.2bn), a deeper look at Google's Nest acquisition doesn't yield a good theory. Perhaps because there isn't one<p>Last week's Monday Note used the "<a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/2014/01/12/internet-of-things-the-basket-of-remotes-problem/">Basket of Remotes</a>" problem as a proxy for the many challenges to the consumer version of the IoT - the "Internet of Things". Automatic discovery, two-way communication, multi-vendor integration, user-interface and network management complexity… until our home devices can talk to each other, until they can report their current states, functions, and failure modes, we're better off with individual remotes than a confusing — and confused — universal controller.</p><p>After reading the Comments section, I thought we could put the topic to rest for a while, perhaps until devices powered by Intel's very low-power <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Quark">Quark processor</a> start shipping.</p><p>"Q: Will Nest customer data be shared with Google?</p><p>A: Our privacy policy clearly limits the use of customer information to providing and improving Nest's products and services. We've always taken privacy seriously and this will not change."</p><p>"Nest products look like Apple products. Nest products are beloved by people who love Apple products. Nest products are sold in Apple stores.</p><p>Nest, in short, looked like a perfect acquisition for Apple, which is struggling to find new product lines to expand into and has a mountain of cash rotting away on its balance sheet with which it could buy things.</p><p>"I was seduced by the sexy design, remote app control, and hyperventilating gadget-site reviews of Nest's thermostat. So I bought one."</p><p>"[…] after hearing of all these problems, I have been too frightened to actually install the Nest I bought.<strong>So I don't know whether it will work or not</strong>."</p><p>"This is the trinity which allows for an understanding of a complex system: the physical, the operational and the guiding principle. The what, the how and the why."</p><p>"There is a business in Google but it's a very obscure topic. The 'business side' of the organization is only mentioned briefly in analyst conference calls and the conversation is not conducted with the same team that faces the public. Even then, analysts who should investigate the link between the business and its persona seem swept away by utopian dreams and look where the company suggests they should be looking (mainly the future.)</p><p>There are almost no discussions of cost structures (e.g. cost of sales, cost of distribution, operations and research), operating models (divisional, functional or otherwise) or of business models. <strong>In fact, the company operates only one business model which was an acquisition, reluctantly adopted</strong>."</p><p>"The trouble lies in that organization also having <strong>de-facto control over the online (and hence increasingly offline) lives of more than one billion people</strong>. Users, but not customers, of a company whose purpose is undefined. The absence of oversight is one thing, the absence of an understanding of the will of the leadership is quite another. The company becomes an object of faith alone. Do we believe?"</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/20/google-nest-aquisition-learning-thermostat">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyGoogleData protectionAppleInternet of thingsMon, 20 Jan 2014 12:57:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/20/google-nest-aquisition-learning-thermostatPhotograph: Nest Labs Inc./EPAThe Nest learning thermostat is one of the new products acquired by Google's purchase of the smart home company. Photograph: Nest Labs Inc./EPAPhotograph: Nest Labs Inc./EPAThe Nest learning thermostat is one of the new products acquired by Google's purchase of the smart home company. Photograph: Nest Labs Inc./EPAJean-Louis Gassée2014-01-20T12:57:00ZCan iPad resist the hybrid PC/tablet trap?https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/09/ipad-hybrid-pc-tablet-trap
<p>The iPad&rsquo;s success comes from its 'do less to do more' philosophy. Now a reasonably mature product, can it expand its uses?</p><p><strong>When the iPad came out, almost four years ago, it was immediately misunderstood by industry insiders – and joyously embraced by normal humans.</strong> Just Google <em>iPad naysayer</em> for a few nuggets of <a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/156801/on-its-third-birthday-apples-ipad-looks-back-at-years-of-comical-criticism">iPad negativism</a>. Even Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, couldn’t avoid the derivative trap: He saw the new object as a mere evolution of an existing one and <a href="http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/11/one-ipad-to-rule-them-all-all-those-who-dream-big-are-not-lost/">shrugged off the iPad as a bigger phone</a>. Schmidt should have known better, he had been an Apple director in the days when Jobs believed the two companies were “natural allies”.</p><p>I was no wiser. I got my first iPad on launch day and was immediately disappointed. My new tablet wouldn’t let me do the what I did on my MacBook Air – or my tiny <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee_PC">EeePC</a> running Windows Xp (not Vista!). For example, writing a Monday Note on an iPad was a <em>practical</em> impossibility – and still is.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/09/ipad-hybrid-pc-tablet-trap">Continue reading...</a>iPadTablet computersAppleTechnologyThu, 09 Jan 2014 11:27:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/09/ipad-hybrid-pc-tablet-trapPhotograph: redsnapper / Alamy/AlamyNow equipped with hindsight, Apple’s decision to stick to a “pure” tablet looks more inspired than lucky Photograph: redsnapper/AlamyPhotograph: redsnapper / Alamy/AlamyNow equipped with hindsight, Apple’s decision to stick to a “pure” tablet looks more inspired than lucky Photograph: redsnapper/AlamyJean-Louis Gassee2014-01-09T11:27:20Z2014 will not be an easy year for the digital news industryhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/jan/09/internet
The good news is the list of mandatory actions is coming into sharper focus. Today, we look at key items<p>The hard part is finding positive signs. My own guess: for the news industry, the excruciating migration from print to digital will get worse before it gets better. If I had to draw a J curve, as economists put it, it would look like this:</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/jan/09/internet">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyInternetThu, 09 Jan 2014 10:30:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/jan/09/internetPhotograph: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERSFor the news media industry, advertising will remain problematic this year. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERSPhotograph: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERSFor the news media industry, advertising will remain problematic this year. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERSFrédéric Filloux2014-01-09T10:30:27ZMicrosoft CEO Search: Stalematehttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/dec/09/microsoft
The Microsoft CEO succession process appears to be stalled. This is a company with immense human, technical, and financial resources; the tech industry is filled with intelligent, energetic, dedicated candidates. What's wrong with the matchmaking process?<p><strong>Blond, Japanese, 25 years old, 15 years experience – and bisexual. </strong>This is a caricature, but only barely, of the impossible CEO job specs that executive recruiters circulate when on a mission to replace the head of a large company.</p><p>The real list of requirements describes a strategist with a piercing eye for the long term… and daily operational details; a fearless leader of people, willing to inflict pain… but with a warm touch; a strong communicator, a great listener, and an upstanding steward of shareholder interests…and of the environment.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/dec/09/microsoft">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyMicrosoftMon, 09 Dec 2013 17:02:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/dec/09/microsoftPhotograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesIs Microsoft looking for an impossibly 'well-rounded' candidate? Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesIs Microsoft looking for an impossibly 'well-rounded' candidate? Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesJean-Louis Gassée2013-12-09T17:02:19ZThe Internet of Things: a tangled webhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/25/internet-of-things-connected-world
For 25 years, we've been promised a connected world, but progress doesn't seem to match the glowing predictions.<p><strong>The presentation is straightforward and enticing:</strong></p><p><em>Picture this: A 25¢; smart chip inside a light-bulb socket. Networked through the 110V wires, it provides centralised on-off control and monitors the bulb's 'health' by constantly measuring electrical resistance. Imagine the benefits in a large office, with thousands, or even tens of thousands of fixtures. Energy is saved as lighting is now under central, constantly adaptable control. Maintenance is easier, pinpointed, less expensive: Bulbs are changed at precisely the right time, just before the filament burns out.<br></em><em>Now, add this magic chip to any and all appliances and visualise the enormity of the economic and ease-of-use benefits. This is no dream … we're already working on agreements in energy-conscious Scandinavia.</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/25/internet-of-things-connected-world">Continue reading...</a>InternetTechnologyAppsEnergy efficiencyEnergyInternet of thingsMon, 25 Nov 2013 11:13:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/25/internet-of-things-connected-worldPhotograph: MatthiolaC/AlamyCisco's chief futurist says that within 10 years, there will be 50bn connected things in the world, with trillions of connections. Photograph: MatthiolaC/AlamyPhotograph: MatthiolaC/AlamyCisco's chief futurist says that within 10 years, there will be 50bn connected things in the world, with trillions of connections. Photograph: MatthiolaC/AlamyJean-Louis Gassée2013-11-25T11:13:41ZAmazon v Apple: business models comparedhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/18/amazon-v-apple-business-models-compared
Amazon 'loses' money, Apple makes tons if it – yet Wall Street prefers Jeff Bezos's losses to Tim Cook's<p>The words in the standfirst were spoken by an old friend and Amazon veteran, as three French émigrés talked shop at a Palo Alto watering hole. The riposte would fit as the epigraph for <strong>The Amazon Money Pump For Dummies</strong>, an explanation of Amazon's ever-ascending stock price while the company keeps "losing money".</p><p>(I don't like the term <em>business model</em>, and <em>Bizmodel </em>even less so. I prefer <em>money pump</em> with its lively evocations: attach the hose, adjust the valves, prime the mechanism, and then watch the flow of money from the customer's pocket to the investor's purse).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/18/amazon-v-apple-business-models-compared">Continue reading...</a>AppleTechnologyAmazonBusinessE-commerceiPhoneiPadMon, 18 Nov 2013 11:25:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/18/amazon-v-apple-business-models-comparedPhotograph: Steve Parsons/PALast quarter, Amazon's revenue grew by 24% year on year, and lost about 1% of its net sales of $17bn (£10.5bn). Photograph: Steve Parsons/PAPhotograph: Steve Parsons/PALast quarter, Amazon's revenue grew by 24% year on year, and lost about 1% of its net sales of $17bn (£10.5bn). Photograph: Steve Parsons/PAJean-Louis Gassée2013-11-18T11:25:00ZPierre Omidyar and Glenn Greenwald's newsroom – the business modelhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/media-blog/2013/nov/18/pierre-omidyar-glenn-greenwald-newsroom
In a previous Monday Note we looked at an ideal newsroom, today we look at the product and the business model<p><strong>Profit or non-profit? Definitely for-profit!</strong> First, because the eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's track record (see this <a href="http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/charity-assets/">the New Inquiry</a> article) shows a fierce appetite for profitable ventures. And second, because there no such thing as a free and independent media press without a strong business side: financial vulnerability is journalism's worst enemy, while profit breeds scalability. How to make money, then, with a narrow niche such as investigative journalism? Can Omidyar's venture move beyond the cross-subsidy system that powered legacy media for decades? This weekend, in a <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/a3de4154-4bb2-11e3-a02f-00144feabdc0.html">FT.com interview</a>, Henry Blodget justified the deluge of eye-grabbing headlines spread over Business Insider by saying "The dining and motoring sections pay for the Iraq bureau"</p><p>For this, Omidyar can look at a wide set of choices: he could devise click-driven contents built on the proven high volume/cheap ads equation. Or he could opt for what I'll call the Porsche Model, one in which the most visible activity (in this case sports car manufacturing) brings only a marginal contribution to the P&amp;L when compared to its financial activities: in 2009, Porsche made $1bn (£620m) in profit from car sales and almost $7bn <a href="http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/porsche-a-hedge-fund-with-a-carmaker-attached/?_r=0">betting</a> on Volkswagen stock. More realistically, an endowment-like model sounds natural for a deep-pocketed investor like Omidyar. Most US universities are doing fine with that model: a large sum of money, the endowment, is invested and produces enough interest to run operations. One sure thing: if he really wants to go against big corporations and finance, to shield it from pressure, Omidyar should keep its business model disconnected from its editorial operation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/media-blog/2013/nov/18/pierre-omidyar-glenn-greenwald-newsroom">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyDigital mediaInternetMedia businessAmazonMon, 18 Nov 2013 10:22:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/media-blog/2013/nov/18/pierre-omidyar-glenn-greenwald-newsroomPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianOn the product side of a newsroom, the motto should be: try everything – on multiple segments and platforms.. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianOn the product side of a newsroom, the motto should be: try everything – on multiple segments and platforms.. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianFrederic Filloux2013-11-18T10:22:00ZApple's new iWork: another missed opportunity to set expectationshttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/11/apple-iwork-technology-monday-note
With the 5.0 iWork suite we revisit Apple's propensity to make lofty claims that fall short of reality<p><strong>Once upon a time, our youngest child took it upon herself to sell our old Chevy Tahoe.</strong> She thought her father was a little too soft in his negotiations on the sales lot, too inclined to leave money on the table in his rush to end the suffering.</p><p>We arrive at the dealership. She hops out, introduces herself to the salesperson, and then this kid – not yet old enough to vote – begins her pitch. She starts out by making it clear that the car has its faults: a couple of dents in the rear bumper, a stubborn glove compartment door, a cup holder that's missing a flange. Flaws disclosed, she then shows off the impeccable engine, the spotless interior, the good-as-new finish (in preparation, she'd had the truck detailed inside and out, including the engine compartment).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/11/apple-iwork-technology-monday-note">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyAppleSoftwareiPadiPhoneGmailiTunesMon, 11 Nov 2013 10:15:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/11/apple-iwork-technology-monday-notePhotograph: Graham Turner/GuardianApple’s new iWork was announced with great fanfare, but the end product is littered with bugs. Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianPhotograph: Graham Turner/GuardianApple’s new iWork was announced with great fanfare, but the end product is littered with bugs. Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianJean-Louis Gassée2013-11-11T10:15:54ZHow might Glenn Greenwald's new investigative reporting venture look?https://www.theguardian.com/technology/media-blog/2013/nov/04/digital-journalism-pierre-omidyar-ebay-glenn-greenwald
eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's is funding a £250m news venture, with Glenn Greenwald a major player. Will it take inspiration from non-profit media ProPublica?<p><strong>For a digital journalism project, $250m (£156m) is a serious investment. </strong>So far, it's unclear whether this is a one-time investment, merely initial funding (Pierre Omidyar's share in eBay is approx. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/pierre-omidyar/">$8.5bn</a>), or just yearly running costs. To put things in perspective, the New York Times' 1,300-people newsroom costs around $200m per year, including $70m for international coverage alone – reporting abroad and maintaining 24 foreign bureaus manned by 50 reporters. But, by most measures, the scope of NYT operations is at the far end of the scale.</p><p>A more realistic example is the funding of the non-profit media <a href="http://www.propublica.org/">ProPublica</a> (see a <a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/07/01/lessons-from-propublica/">previous Monday Note</a> on the subject). According to its 2012 financial statement (<a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/about/propublica_2012report_final.pdf">PDF here</a>), ProPublica has raised a little more than $10m from philanthropic organisations and spends less than that for a 30-person staff. No one disputes that, journalistically speaking, ProPublica is a remarkable publication; it faithfully follows its "journalism in the public interest" mission statement, collecting two Pulitzer Prizes in so doing.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/media-blog/2013/nov/04/digital-journalism-pierre-omidyar-ebay-glenn-greenwald">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyMediaDigital mediaInternetPrivacyComputingMon, 04 Nov 2013 11:34:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/media-blog/2013/nov/04/digital-journalism-pierre-omidyar-ebay-glenn-greenwaldPhotograph: Dan Talson/Rex FeaturesThe New York Times newsroom costs around $200m a year, ProPublica is estimated to operate on less than $10m. Photograph: Dan Talson/Rex FeaturesPhotograph: Dan Talson/Rex FeaturesThe New York Times newsroom costs around $200m a year, ProPublica is estimated to operate on less than $10m. Photograph: Dan Talson/Rex FeaturesFrederic Filloux2013-11-04T11:34:00ZIntel is under new management – and it's already starting to showhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/04/intel-new-management-smartphone
The company's new CEO must find a way to gain relevance in the smartphone world after his predecessor's mistake<p><strong>In last May's </strong><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/paul-otellinis-intel-can-the-company-that-built-the-future-survive-it/275825/"><strong>The Atlantic</strong></a><strong> magazine, Intel's then-CEO </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Otellini"><strong>Paul Otellini</strong></a><strong> confessed to a mistake of historic proportions.</strong> Apple had given Intel the chance to be part of the smartphone era, to supply the processor for the first iPhone … and Otellini said no [emphasis and light editing mine]:<br></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>"The thing you have to remember is that this was before the iPhone was introduced and no one knew what the iPhone would do …. At the end of the day, there was a chip that they were interested in that they wanted to pay a certain price for and not a nickel more and that price was below our forecasted cost. I couldn't see it. It wasn't one of these things you can make up on volume. And in hindsight, </em><strong><em>the forecasted cost was wrong and the volume was 100x what anyone thought</em></strong><em>.</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/04/intel-new-management-smartphone">Continue reading...</a>IntelSmartphonesComputingMicrosoftTechnologyAppleMon, 04 Nov 2013 11:17:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/nov/04/intel-new-management-smartphonePhotograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesIntel’s new chief executive, Brian Krzanich, last week cancelled the company?s OnCue TV-service project. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesIntel’s new chief executive, Brian Krzanich, last week cancelled the company?s OnCue TV-service project. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesJean-Louis Gassée2013-11-04T11:17:06ZSnowden files: security shouldn't trump privacy, but it willhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/28/snowden-files-security-privacy-nsa-gchq-surveillance
The NSA and GCHQ are shooting for total surveillance, creating the potential for knowledge falling into the wrong hands<p><strong>An </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency"><strong>NSA</strong></a><strong> contractor, </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden"><strong>Edward Snowden</strong></a><strong>, takes it upon himself to gather a mountain of secret internal documents</strong> that describe our surveillance methods and targets, and shares them with journalist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald">Glenn Greenwald</a>. Since May of this year, Greenwald has provided us with a trickle of Snowden's revelations … and our elected officials, both here and abroad, treat us to their indignation.</p><p>What have we learned? <em>We Spy On Everyone</em>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/28/snowden-files-security-privacy-nsa-gchq-surveillance">Continue reading...</a>Data protectionPrivacyComputingSurveillanceNSAEdward SnowdenMon, 28 Oct 2013 15:05:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/28/snowden-files-security-privacy-nsa-gchq-surveillancePhotograph: Roger Tooth/GuardianIn a total surveillance society, privacy protection via unbreakable cryptography would not protect people from scrutiny. Photograph: Roger Tooth for the GuardianPhotograph: Roger Tooth/GuardianIn a total surveillance society, privacy protection via unbreakable cryptography would not protect people from scrutiny. Photograph: Roger Tooth for the GuardianJean-Louis Gassée2013-10-28T15:05:44ZiPhone 5S verdict: the surpriseshttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/21/iphone-5s-verdict-apple-smartphone-ios
Apple's latest smartphone jumps off the slope, combining a 64-bit processor and a new 64-bit iOS – but will it work?<p>"<em>I will withhold judgment on the new iPhone until I have a chance to play customer, buy the product (my better half seems to like the 5C while I pine for a 5S), and use it for about two weeks – the time required to go beyond my first, and often wrong, impressions".</em></p><p><strong>I wrote those words a little over </strong><a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/2013/09/15/apple-market-share-facts-and-psychology/"><strong>a month ago</strong></a><strong>. </strong>I've now played customer for the requisite two weeks – I got an iPhone 5S on 3 October – and I'm prepared to report.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/21/iphone-5s-verdict-apple-smartphone-ios">Continue reading...</a>iPhone 5SiPhoneAppleSmartphonesTechnologyMon, 21 Oct 2013 10:19:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/21/iphone-5s-verdict-apple-smartphone-iosPhotograph: Eduardo Barraza/Demotix/CorbisApple's iPhone 5S was the company's riskiest undertaking since the launch of the original iPhone, so did the risk pay off? Photograph: Eduardo Barraza/Demotix/CorbisPhotograph: Eduardo Barraza/Demotix/CorbisApple's iPhone 5S was the company's riskiest undertaking since the launch of the original iPhone, so did the risk pay off? Photograph: Eduardo Barraza/Demotix/CorbisJean-Louis Gassée2013-10-21T10:19:01ZDigital journalism – the story as the gateway to knowledge (and revenue)https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/21/digital-journalism-web-revenue-monday-note
The article is no longer an end in itself – it's an entry point to the riches of the web, and a contributor to the revenue stream<p><strong>Last week in Paris, I met the representative of a major US tech firm</strong> in charge of content-based partnerships. This witty, fast-thinking young engineer toured European capitals for an upcoming web and mobile platform, meeting guys like me in charge of digital operations in large media companies. Our discussion quickly centred on the notion of article in the digital world. Like many of his peers (I can't name them otherwise you might triangulate with whom I spoke), he looked at the journalistic article in an old-fashioned way: a block of text, augmented with links here and there, period.</p><p>This no longer is how it works – or how it should work.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/21/digital-journalism-web-revenue-monday-note">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyTablet computersDigital mediaMediaMedia businessInternetSmartphonesMon, 21 Oct 2013 09:36:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/21/digital-journalism-web-revenue-monday-notePhotograph: David Brabyn/CorbisTablet computers and smartphones are increasingly becoming the platforms of choice for reading news. Photograph: David Brabyn/CorbisPhotograph: David Brabyn/CorbisTablet computers and smartphones are increasingly becoming the platforms of choice for reading news. Photograph: David Brabyn/CorbisFrederic Filloux2013-10-21T09:36:02ZMicrosoft mission impossiblehttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/14/microsoft-mission-impossible-ceo-tech
The new CEO faces a huge task trying to turn around the fortunes of the once-great tech company<p><em>You're Microsoft's new CEO. How do you like staring at the abyss between two mutually exclusive ways of making money? The old business model, Windows and Office licensing, is going away. The Devices and Services future puts you in direct competition against the likes of Google and Apple, as well as former licensing vassals such as HP and Dell. Can you take the company to the other side, or will you fall to the bottom of the business model transition canyon?</em></p><p><strong>Life used to be simple and immensely profitable at Microsoft.</strong> As its name implies, the company started as a supplier of <strong>micro</strong>computer <strong>soft</strong>ware. Simplifying a bit, it all started with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_BASIC">BASIC</a> interpreter, which found its way into many early personal computers, including the Apple ][. After that came <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS">DOS</a>, the operating system for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer">IBM's personal computer</a>; and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplan">Multiplan</a>, an early foray into desktop productivity. DOS begat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows">Windows</a>, and Multiplan was succeeded in steps by the full <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office">Office</a> suite. Through a series of astute business and lawyerly maneouvers, the Windows + Office combo eventually spread to virtually all PC clones.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/14/microsoft-mission-impossible-ceo-tech">Continue reading...</a>MicrosoftMicrosoft SurfaceTechnologyTablet computersSmartphonesNokiaAppleAndroidWindowsWindows 7Windows 8Windows PhoneiPadiPhoneSteve BallmerBill GatesMon, 14 Oct 2013 09:16:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/14/microsoft-mission-impossible-ceo-techPhotograph: AFP/Getty ImagesThe person stepping into Steve Ballmer?s shoes as CEO of Microsoft faces an almost impossible task turning the company around. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: AFP/Getty ImagesThe person stepping into Steve Ballmer?s shoes as CEO of Microsoft faces an almost impossible task turning the company around. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesJean-Louis Gassée2013-10-14T09:16:15ZApple under siegehttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/apple-steve-jobs-tim-cook
Two years after Steve Jobs left us, Apple now wears Tim Cook's imprint and seems to wear it well<p><strong>Last Friday, Tim Cook issued a sombre remembrance to Apple employees:</strong><br></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Team-<br></em><em>Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Steve's death. I hope everyone will reflect on what he meant to all of us and to the world. Steve was an amazing human being and left the world a better place. I think of him often and find enormous strength in memories of his friendship, vision and leadership. He left behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We will continue to honour his memory by dedicating ourselves to the work he loved so much. There is no higher tribute to his memory. I know that he would be proud of all of you.<br></em><em>Best,<br></em><em>Tim</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/apple-steve-jobs-tim-cook">Continue reading...</a>AppleSteve JobsComputingBusinessTim CookMon, 07 Oct 2013 10:02:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/apple-steve-jobs-tim-cookPhotograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesTwo years after Steve Jobs left us, Apple now wears Tim Cook's imprint and, for all the doubt and perpetual doomsaying, seems to wear it well Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesTwo years after Steve Jobs left us, Apple now wears Tim Cook's imprint and, for all the doubt and perpetual doomsaying, seems to wear it well Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesJean-Louis Gassée2013-10-07T10:02:00ZThe Quartz Wayhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/07/quartz-internet-qz-com-business-media
In the first of two articles, we take a closer look at the editorial product of the venture that just turned one year old<p><strong>Quartz (</strong><a href="http://qz.com"><strong>qz.com</strong></a><strong>) is the kind of media most business writers would love to be part of.</strong> It's smart, fun, witty, basic and sophisticated at the same time. Like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ive">Jony Ive</a> design at Apple, its apparent simplicity is the combined product of deep thought and of a series of bold moves by its owner, the Atlantic Media group, publisher of the eponymous monthly. From all standpoints, content, organisation or even business model, Quartz came up with innovations (see the Monday Note I wrote for <a href="http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/09/30/quartz-interesting-and-uncertain/">the launch in September 2012</a>).</p><p>Ten days ago, my phone interview with editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney, started with a discussion of his newsroom of 25 writers and editors. On Tuesday September 24 at 9pm Paris Time, Quartz had this piece at the top of its infinite scroll:</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/07/quartz-internet-qz-com-business-media">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyInternetAdvertisingComputingBloggingMon, 07 Oct 2013 09:39:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/oct/07/quartz-internet-qz-com-business-mediaPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianQuartz features all components of a modern media venture. Is this a formula for the long run? Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianQuartz features all components of a modern media venture. Is this a formula for the long run? Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianFrederic Filloux2013-10-07T09:39:00Z